Update: The Twins finally got one of those rare wins over the Yankees, beating them 7-4 on Sunday to salvage the last game of a four-game series with the pinstripers. Ervin Santana went seven-plus innings to win for only the second time this season, while Max Kepler had three hits including his second home run. So it’s a win over the Yanks, but it’s hardly satisfying. The way this team is playing it will be a while before the Twins sweep the Yankees at home, let alone on the road.
GAME: Twins 7, Yankees 4. Twins snap five-game losing streak. Santana snaps five-game losing streak.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) June 19, 2016
Earlier: I used to think the Twins’ futility against the New York Yankees could be compared to the Boston Red Sox’s historic battles with the Bronx Bombers. Except I was mistaken. Boston has always been able to beat the Yankees. It’s just that, until recently, the Red Sox couldn’t beat the Yankees when it mattered most.
That’s not the case with the Twins. It doesn’t matter if it’s the playoffs or the regular season, the Twins can’t seem to find a way to beat this team. Oh, there’s the occasional win, of course, but you’d never notice because it happens so infrequently.
The Twins as a franchise, including when they were known as the Washington Senators, have a win-loss record of 760-1,109 versus the Yankees, or a winning percentage of .407. For the Twins, it’s the lowest franchise winning percentage against any team in baseball, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
(They actually have a lower winning percentage versus the San Francisco Giants, but they’ve played each other only 12 times).
And the losing has continued this weekend. The Yanks have taken three of four games from the Twins, including Saturday’s 7-6 win. At least starter Ricky Nolasco kept it close.
Once again Nolasco and his three wins, which leads the team, made another quality start. He limited the pinstripers to two runs over seven innings and then stepped aside to watch the bullpen give up five runs and the game. The Twins are now two games away from falling to 20-50.
Extra innings…
-Boston College product and pitcher Pat Dean was sent to Triple-A Rochester after his most recent start against the Yankees, an 8-2 loss. The Yanks will do that to you.
-In Dean’s place, the team has recalled Tommy Milone, who went 4-0 with an ERA of 1.66 in seven starts for Rochester, according to MLB.com.
-Closer Glen Perkins, who has struggled with injuries of late, has decided to have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. Perkins has recorded 120 saves in 11 seasons with the Twins, including 30-plus saves in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
-Outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has been designated for assignment. The Twins now have 10 days to trade him, release him or allow him to be claimed on waivers by another team, the Strib reports.
-Old friend Anthony Swarzak, who pitched five seasons for the Twins, made an appearance in Saturday’s game for the Yankees. He struck out two in one-plus innings of work.